Sustainability; a micro-essay
By: Boston Gilbert
The dictionary by Merriam-Webster lists three definitions for the word sustainable.
First, it defines sustainable as "capable of being sustained."
Second, "of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged."
Last, "of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods."
Essential in understanding sustainability, the first definition for sustainable includes the word "sustained." Merriam-Webster defines "sustained" as "maintained at length without interruption or weakening." Sustainability being maintainable "without...weakening" infers it is strong.
Merriam-Webster's first three definitions for strength illustrate such as the "capacity for exertion or endurance," the "power to resist force" and the "power of resisting attack."
A synonym for "strong" is robust. Robust is defined as "strong and healthy." Living sustainably is strong, which is inherently healthy. Aligned with the definition of strength, I view sustainability as an act of rebellion. Just as strength is characterized as the "power of resisting attack," making the choice to live sustainability is equivalent to staring life dead in the eye and declaring war against its incessant physical and metaphysical attacks. In my experience, these attacks are marked by an invisible insurgency who's inertia toils to drag me down, down, down to the depths of apathy, negativity and laziness.
Foundationally, I think I am attracted to the idea of living sustainability because I get pissed at the feeling I get when my efforts are thwarted for lack of intentionality. I have a deep desire for my effort to pay off - to last. Wasted energy almost always feels like failure. So, what is wasted energy and how is it wasted? Is wasted energy always negative?
Interestingly, I feel like I waste energy when I fail at something that doesn't challenge me. It's a subdivision of personal expectation management. If I try something that I expect to succeed in, and I don't, then I'm frustrated with my experience. If I try something that I don't expect to succeed in, and I don't, I leave satisfied with my effort. The only difference between the two cases is the degree of challenge in each. Unrelated to the impending result, the greater the challenge the greater the fulfilment. As a result, both challenge and effort are correlated with my perception of failure. After all, applying more effort IS challenging. When I challenge myself and/or apply effort, I am much less likely (if not likely at all) to feel as if I failed. In effect, my definition of failure changed somewhere in that consciousness. For now, my (generally ever-changing) conclusion is that as long as I am A) challenging myself, B) applying effort or C) challenging myself by applying effort, failure is generally a non-factor.
I got off on a tangent in regard to the relationship between expectations, challenge, success and failure. To realign, the intended conversation is centered on sustainability. Returning to the question of how and why wasted energy is central to my motivation to live sustainably in conjunction with what that question's relationship is to the application of effort toward things that are challenging, there is a loophole in the previous paragraph. Namely, that my "desire for my effort to pay off - to last" is at risk when I am applying effort toward things that are challenging, that aren't guaranteed to "succeed." This is where sustainability comes in. I view the application of sustainable practices in my life as an antidote to wasted effort. Not only do I desire for my effort to not be wasted, but for it to withstand.
My personal definition for sustainability is "an effort toward practices that reap lasting reward." One of the easiest comparisons analogous to how I feel about sustainable vs. non-sustainable practices is investing vs. spending. The latter is a high, driven by a compulsive desire to chase a feeling associated with an object of desire. It feels uncontrollable, even addicting. Similar to a drug, living life from high to high is holistically exhausting...and exhaustive. The need to regain the high comes with the effort to do so and the frustration that comes with the acknowledgment that the previous effort didn't last.
Therefore, how I aim to respond to this dilemma is by applying channeled energy toward efforts that are working while I am not. It's the difference between conservation and preservation. Conservation seeks proper use of, while preservation seeks protection from use. You have three choices with your decisions in life. You can spend. You can save. Or you can invest. Controlled by desire, I can throw away what I have. Motivated by fear, I can lifelessly protect it. Or, empowered by an understanding that I have been given gifts for a purpose, I can put them to use in a way that can be "maintained at length without interruption or weakening."
In writing this, I don't give tangible examples. The point isn't that I write what I think people should do. On the contrary, my intention is to write openly, providing space for thought, opportunity to scale, personalization and free interpretation. My central motivation is to encourage free thinking. To question. Without questioning, a belief is left untested. I believe an untested belief, idea or opinion is inherently less valuable than one that is tested. As Socrates proclaims, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Similarly, Luke describes the Berean Jews as having "more noble character" than those in Thessalonica due to how they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" in the Book of Acts.
In the spirit of questioning, anyone who is seeking a sustainable lifestyle must consider whether their pursuit of sustainability is sustainable. I must ask myself the question, "Is wasted effort ALWAYS unwarranted?" If I am not willing to waste effort, will I ever take risks? In my desire to implement sustainable practices in my life, am I closing myself off to the world of opportunity which resides on the other side of risk? Might I have to be willing to risk wasting effort in order to discover? In order to reach my potential? In order to change? I'm confident even the pursuit of sustainability must be examined in order for it to be healthy, positive, effective and balanced.
My personal definition for sustainability is "an effort toward practices that reap lasting reward." One of the easiest comparisons analogous to how I feel about sustainable vs. non-sustainable practices is investing vs. spending. The latter is a high, driven by a compulsive desire to chase a feeling associated with an object of desire. It feels uncontrollable, even addicting. Similar to a drug, living life from high to high is holistically exhausting...and exhaustive. The need to regain the high comes with the effort to do so and the frustration that comes with the acknowledgment that the previous effort didn't last.
Therefore, how I aim to respond to this dilemma is by applying channeled energy toward efforts that are working while I am not. It's the difference between conservation and preservation. Conservation seeks proper use of, while preservation seeks protection from use. You have three choices with your decisions in life. You can spend. You can save. Or you can invest. Controlled by desire, I can throw away what I have. Motivated by fear, I can lifelessly protect it. Or, empowered by an understanding that I have been given gifts for a purpose, I can put them to use in a way that can be "maintained at length without interruption or weakening."
In writing this, I don't give tangible examples. The point isn't that I write what I think people should do. On the contrary, my intention is to write openly, providing space for thought, opportunity to scale, personalization and free interpretation. My central motivation is to encourage free thinking. To question. Without questioning, a belief is left untested. I believe an untested belief, idea or opinion is inherently less valuable than one that is tested. As Socrates proclaims, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Similarly, Luke describes the Berean Jews as having "more noble character" than those in Thessalonica due to how they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" in the Book of Acts.
In the spirit of questioning, anyone who is seeking a sustainable lifestyle must consider whether their pursuit of sustainability is sustainable. I must ask myself the question, "Is wasted effort ALWAYS unwarranted?" If I am not willing to waste effort, will I ever take risks? In my desire to implement sustainable practices in my life, am I closing myself off to the world of opportunity which resides on the other side of risk? Might I have to be willing to risk wasting effort in order to discover? In order to reach my potential? In order to change? I'm confident even the pursuit of sustainability must be examined in order for it to be healthy, positive, effective and balanced.
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